M.J. Markgraf
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Norman the Necromancer Chapter 96
🕑 Added 2023-04-28 12:00:06 +0000 UTCThe atmosphere in Ashvale was electric. There were colored streamers – Norman had no clue where anyone found the time to make those – small stalls with food and beverages, and even a few with games people could play to win prizes. It was a celebration in full swing and Norman was glad to see the shift from survival to living life. Or in this case, unlife.
People were laughing and dancing and taking full advantage of the festivities. Even the more stoic gron were fully getting in on the entertainment.
As they should. There was a lot to celebrate. The nearly four hundred greykin were now back. Yup, Norman had finally figured out his spell. The town was also almost completely restored to what it was prior to the Brotherhood’s attack.
Of course, those revived greykin were happy to be back, but it was the ones left waiting for them to return that seemed the most ecstatic. Hence the festivities.
There was even talk of expanding Ashvale beyond the wall and creating a second wall eventually. But those issues were for years in the future. For now, the people were focused on their missing loved ones and friends that were once again back.
Norman watched all of these festivities from his seat on an ornate stage with a smile on his face. He was genuinely happy for everyone. He only wished his mood matched that smile. But he didn’t want to ruin everyone’s fun with some possibly dour news. So for now he kept it to himself. Well, Grobert and Eugene had been made aware, but nobody else had.
It had been a little over five months since they had returned from the wasteland. A great many things had happened in that short time-span. He had reunited with Anna. Which was neither good nor bad. The town had been brought back to a livable condition. And Norman had pushed his magical knowledge further than ever before and managed to restore all of his lost people. So why wasn’t he happy?
That was simple.
He performed his weekly ritual this morning to see if he could summon any of the four death knights that had gone to California. And he was successful at summoning two out of the four. The fact that they had died during their mission upset him. But Norman could correct that issue now that he had figured out how to create bodies based on the soul’s image. It was the fact that the souls had been damaged that enraged him.
Norman immediately recognized the damage. Someone had used his Glimpse from Beyond spell on those men. The fact that his own spell was used to harm his people pissed him off. They completely disregarded his notes on the damage it caused to the soul and still used it. And from the state of the souls, they used the spell more than once. He was tempted to resurrect Noorani, just to strike her down again to vent his anger. Norman wouldn’t do that though, he wasn’t that petty.
While Norman couldn’t do anything about the soul damage. He had learned that extended time could heal it. He verified this by trying to summon the scholar. The same one he used as his first test to create greykin so long ago.
The blood samples Norman had hidden were never discovered by the Brotherhood. Along with the scholar's blood, Norman had one for the fire mage and one for Toby. Not that he would consider resurrecting either of them. There were a couple of other notable blood samples in his hidden cache as well.
While the scholar’s soul wasn’t completely healed over the last decade, it was better off than it had been. The man could at least form some coherent sentences now. After verifying that souls would eventually heal, Norman sent the scholar back to the immaterial realm to finish healing. It’s what Norman decided to call the place that souls resided in. It might take decades, but all of his people would return.
Norman was shaken out of his funk as a procession started to form down the street. He hadn’t realized that most of the sounds had died down. People had quietly lined up along the sides of the main street to wait. Soon the procession wound it's way down the street and toward the stage that he sat on.
The city had never really been designed for large gatherings, but the central square where he sat worked well enough. And even if the main road curved like a flowing river, it was wide enough to accommodate three wagons side by side. Plenty of room for this group to traverse the road.
In the front of the procession were a few notable figures he recognized. One was the jorik that ran the magical trinket shop. His name was Saliu. The other jorik standing next to him was his life partner Nolia.
What Norman hadn’t realized until recently was that the jorik didn’t have sexes like humans. They were hermaphroditic until they found a partner. Then one chose the male role, while the other chose the female. However, that worked. After that, they mated for life. So when Saliu’s mate Nolia was killed in the attack on Ashvale, the man had been devastated.
Behind them, Norman spotted Varter and the other stone mages. And there were more following behind even them.
The procession stopped short of the stage and they all went down on one knee and bowed their heads while repeating the city oath.
Norman wasn’t sure what was going on, but he spotted a wrapped item being carried by the two jorik. He glanced over at Grobert who shrugged minutely. The fact that his main advisor didn’t know what was going on was a bit of a surprise. But Norman didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
“Lord Norman,” Saliu began to speak. “I cannot express how happy I was with the return of my mate, Nolia. Everyone here also wished to convey their thanks for bringing our missing back to us. With that in mind, we worked together to present you with a gift. My mate and I worked with the best craftsmen this city has to offer to produce an item worthy of your prestige and accomplishments. Please accept this as a token of our eternal gratitude.” With that, the two jorik stepped forward and held out the wrapped item.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Norman got up from his seat and walked toward the edge of the stage. As soon as he grasped the wrapped item, the two jorik took a step back and waited, heads slightly bowed.
It was weird to see jorik this submissive to anyone outside of their own race. It told Norman just how serious they were taking this exchange.
“Thank you,” he said awkwardly.
Norman untied the rough string that held the burlap covering the item. As the covering fell away, Norman could only stare in awe at the item he held.
It was a lovingly carved staff made from what looked like platinum. The hollow handle of the staff curved and twisted looking like silvery vines. These vines came together to form intricate images that Norman recognized. It was a story of his life. At the bottom, it was him lounging on a broken couch, looking defeated. How had they learned about that?
As Norman twisted the staff, he could see himself overcoming obstacle after obstacle, culminating in his defeat over the Brotherhood and his battle with Noorani at the top of the staff. Each of these scenes was surrounded by gems that drew the eye to them. Topping the staff was a skull made of a dark green crystal larger than Norman’s fist. At least he assumed it was a crystal, he couldn’t imagine a precious gem of that size being used for something like this.
That wasn’t all he noticed about the staff. He could feel the magic radiating from the item as he held it in his hand.
He thought the skull was a bit much, but it was the thought that counted. Norman was so choked up with emotions that he couldn’t speak for a bit. He eventually managed to fight down the wellspring of emotions to reply. “This is exquisite. Thank you. All of you.”
Norman wrestled with his thoughts for a moment before he stood up straight and tapped the bottom of the staff against the stage. The gathered people immediately fell silent as all eyes turned toward him. They were his people, they had a right to know what was coming.
“While I am your leader, this city and this kingdom would not be possible without all of you. We have peace, and you should enjoy it. But I fear it will be short-lived.”
There were a few whispered concerns, but overall the people looked determined.
“We will live for a long time. But we must not let that make us complacent. There will always be those that want what we have. Or those who see us as something to be stomped out and eliminated because they fear us or cannot stomach our existence. But they will learn. The Brotherhood thought they could destroy us. And look what happened to them.” Murmurs of approval began to spread through the crowd, but Norman wasn’t done.
“I say, let them come! Let them learn the harsh lesson that we are not weak as they break themselves against our united purpose. We will not falter in our resolve. We will not give way to tyrants and despots! We will not willingly give away anything we have built and died for. We will prevail, each and every time!” More cheering accompanied these words.
“Fear not for our future. Worry for our enemies. They know not what they awaken by seeking what is ours!” Norman waited for this third round of cheering to die down before continuing. “Now, this is a celebration. Go celebrate!” With that, the crowd broke into one last round of raucous cheering and went back to celebrating the day far more than they had before.
Oh, how Norman wished he could join them. But he had preparations to make for when their enemy arrived. He glanced at the staff once again. It was going to come in very handy for what he planned.
The jorik didn’t need to tell Norman what the staff did, he could feel what it was capable of just by holding it. Holding the staff was like having a third arm. A little strange, but like it was meant to be the entire time.
All of the outpourings of support were just what Norman needed to lift his spirits. His little speech had been made up on the spot but came from his feelings on the matter. Norman would never again let his people fall as they did to the Brotherhood. He would sacrifice his own life before he let something like that happen. But he would prefer if his enemies were the ones doing the dying.
But he was pretty sure he knew who and what this new enemy would be and he had plenty of time to prepare for their inevitable arrival. With his new knowledge of spell circles, he was armed with exactly what he needed to ensure his enemy suffered a complete defeat. And with luck, they wouldn’t even see it coming.
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The gloves are off.
Comments
Jose Cordones
Gracias una vez más por tan buen capitulo
